Uneasy truce as Ukrainian protesters wait to see what President will offer

By
Euronews

As protesters wait to see what President Yanukovych will put on the table at a special session of parliament, euronew asked one of his closest advisors for his opinion of the best way forward.

Mykhaylo Pohrebinsky, political expert and adviser to President Yanukovych, said: “The first stage is for both sides to step back, for the opposition to control the situation so that there are no more attacks on the police. And the president should concede in terms of changing the laws that outraged people so much.

“The second stage is a strategic one: the president should agree to changes to the constitution which will diminish the power of the president and increase the power of the parliament. This is what the opposition wants and what in my opinion is right for a country like Ukraine.”

An uneasy truce between the protesters and the riot police seemed to be holding on Friday.

The EU’s Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle is due to visit Kyiv.

He helped negotiate the proposed partnership deal with Ukraine, which President Yanukovych rejected last December, which triggered the on-going protests.